March 23, (THEWILL) – Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted a 42-year-old Indian national, Ms Neetu Neetu, at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano, with 72 parcels of heroin factory-sealed in wafer wrappers and disguised as chocolates.
A statement issued on Sunday, by the agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, confirmed that the Class A drug consignment—weighing 11 kilograms—was recovered from Neetu’s luggage following a thorough search. The operation, driven by credible intelligence, occurred during the inward clearance of Qatar Airways flight QR1431 from Bangkok, Thailand, via Vietnam and Doha, at the airport’s arrival hall on Friday, 14 March 2025.
NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd.), remarked: “Neetu’s arrest underscores drug trafficking networks’ growing reliance on recruiting foreign nationals, including white women, to smuggle illicit drugs through Nigerian borders. However, our vigilant operatives, aided by advanced technology and proactive intelligence, continue to thwart such attempts.”
In a separate operation in Kano, NDLEA officers arrested 45-year-old Michael Ogundele on Thursday, March 20, after discovering a 50-litre steel gas cylinder at Gadar Tamburawa along the Zaria-Kano Road. Welding tools were used to cut open the cylinder, revealing 50,000 pills of tramadol (225 mg) concealed inside.
Additional arrests included Sunday Ogar, 40, apprehended in Gunduwawa on Wednesday, 19 March, with 27 kg of skunk (a cannabis strain). Khadijah Abdullahi, 40, was arrested in Lungun Bulala Yalwa on Tuesday, 18 March, with 424 bottles of codeine-based syrup.
In Lagos, operatives arrested Olumuyiwa Kolawole and Samod Adisa, in Mushin with 67.5 kg of skunk. A further 100.8 kg of the substance was seized from a store in Anifowoshe, while Isah Idris was detained in Apapa with 4.5 kg of skunk, 600 grams of tramadol (225 mg), and 30 litres of codeine syrup. The same day, Yahaya Mohamed was arrested in Ikotun with cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine.
NDLEA Commands nationwide intensified their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA), advocacy, conducting sensitisation lectures at institutions including Chrisland School, Ikeja, Lagos. Hakimi Secondary School, Mokwa, Niger State. Marist Comprehensive College, Nteje, Anambra State. Ikole City College, Ikole Ekiti, Ekiti State. Government Day Secondary Schools in Sunane (Sokoto State) and Jada (Adamawa State).
Commending MAKIA, Lagos, and Kano Commands, Gen. Marwa urged sustained efforts in balancing drug supply reduction and public awareness campaigns.
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